


A Red Wookiee

by Zoe_Dameron



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship, M/M, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 01:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6882979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoe_Dameron/pseuds/Zoe_Dameron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo wants to do this, for Poe, but... Wookiee <i>aren't</i> red.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Red Wookiee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wingedbears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedbears/gifts).



Kylo Ren, leader of the Knights of Ren, was seeing red.

The galaxy was home to a surprising amount of red, and he had seen quite a lot during his rule; most life forms were filled with it. Red was the color of chaos, passion, Geonosis, love, the Rebel Alliance. It certainly _wasn’t_ the color of any Wookiee he had ever seen – the very _idea_ filled him with rage. His hand hovered over the flimsi, his eyes pouring over the drawing Poe had made for him to color in. He had stacks of these pages, each lovingly crafted from a memory of a distant planet the pilot had once visited or of fauna he had once seen. It’s not that Kylo didn’t appreciate the gesture, or that he didn’t understand the purpose of the exercise, it was more that…

“…That kriffing _Wookiee_ aren’t kriffing _RED_!”

At the sound of Ren’s outburst, Poe peeked his head through the door. He had taken seven minutes away from Kylo to grab a quick shower and he was already losing it.

“Everything okay in there, Ben?” he asked, trying to quickly finish washing his face at the sink. He heard the table upend, followed by the sounds of pens scattering across the floor. Leia had given him this assignment based on their friendship growing up, as well as Poe’s seemingly limitless patience, but _stars_ , he thought, _this guy needs to chill_.

Walking back into his room, he expected disaster. Instead, he saw Ben, crouching down to carefully pick up each pen and each sketch, then placing it back on the non-broken table.

Kylo turned to the sound of Poe entering. “Sorry for… sorry” he whispered, visibly frustrated but trying his best to regain composure. Poe smiled slightly and went to help him, resting a hand on his shoulder once everything was back in its place.

“Ben…? Should we talk about what happened? Tell me what set you off this time. Was it one of my drawings? I know I’m not the best at this. Maybe we could get Jess in here, she’s far bett–“

“No,” Kylo cut him off, “it wasn’t the drawings. They’re _acceptable_. They look just like they’re supposed to, I assume.” Poe chuckled at the clumsy attempt at a compliment. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” he continued, “and… it’s going to sound stupid out loud. Ugh, I’m so _stupid_. This should be _easy_! _Why am I so stupid_!?”

Poe felt a pang of pity for his former friend and current responsibility. Ben had always been very… _sensitive_ to things. He felt a lot, at all times. The pilot had seen how Ben’s parents interacted when the boys were growing up, always bickering and generally ignoring their son, so he understood why Ben’s emotions were always broadcast. The boy wore his heart on his sleeve, along with his guts, feelings, opinions, you name it. The Dark side encouraged this kind of behavior. It was no surprise Ben had been lost for so long.

“Ben, we both know you’re not stupid. Is it the exercise that has you so frustrated?”

“It doesn’t _make sense_ , Poe.”

“What doesn’t?”

“I’ve never seen a red Wookiee in my life. They’re brown. Every Wookiee in the galaxy is either brown, black, or sometimes even white. This uncolored page makes more sense than coloring it in, honestly.” Kylo sighed resignedly. “And before you say it, yes, _I know_ , the entire point of this is to allow things to be… _different_. But it makes no sense and I hate it.”

Poe was confused. All of this because it wasn’t biologically accurate? He motioned Kylo to sit back down, taking his own seat across from him.

“Ben, how can…” he paused, choosing his next words carefully. “…How can I help you with this?”

Kylo looked down at his paper with eyes full of shame.

“If I do this exercise…” he lifted his head to meet Poe, “…Can you make sure no one else sees it? Besides you and Dr. Kalonia?” Knowing it was an odd request, he explained before Poe needed to ask. “I don’t want people to think I don’t know what Wookiee look like. I don’t want them to think I don’t know how things are or how they should be. I have a lot of things to make up for, but I don’t want people to think I’m somehow… _incapable_ , I guess. I don’t want to be dismissed. Rather, if someone does dismiss me, I want it to be because of me, not because of their impression of me.”

“…You don’t have control over how other people perceive you now. And that terrifies you, right?”

Kylo nodded. “With the Dark side… It feels powerful when people fear you.”

“It feels even better when people love you, Ben. Love is harder to earn.” The pilot watched him think it over before continuing. “Listen, Ben… I’m not going to Bantha-shit you here. After the things you’ve done, I don’t know how people will feel about you. I don’t know what goes through their heads every time you walk out around the base, or every time they see you with me, or General Organa, or… whoever. But, I care about you a whole lot. And in this room, right now, you have control over how this goes. You can finish this and be one step closer to leaving your old life behind. I guarantee you, a month from now? I don’t think you’ll be cursing yourself for making a Wookiee red. Besides, there’s a Wampa that needs to be filled in with an absolutely _gorgeous_ shade of purple, just waiting for you in that stack of sketches.”

Poe rose out of his chair and walked over to his friend, wrapping him up in a hug and gently tousling his fingers through his hair. The pilot planted a kiss on the top of his head.

“I love you, buddy. You’ve got this.”

Ben smiled and leaned in to the hug. Turning his attention to the drawing, he picked up the red pen and began filling in the blank space.


End file.
